The international, Louisville-based maker of apparel, footwear and cycling gear was thrown into hot water after printing an advertisement in Canadian Running Magazine.

The ad depicted a trail runner decked out in Pearl Izumi garb, performing what appeared to be CPR on his unconscious canine. The insinuation was that the gear makes you run so long that you could give your dog a heart attack.

The resulting social media firestorm suggested that many animal lovers don't appreciate such imagery.

"You should be seriously ashamed of even entertaining an ad like this," said Angela Seguin, owner of a Canadian dog treat company, in a Facebook post. "The editor who approved it should be fired and so should the ad creator. This has done serious damage to your reputation. ... I'll be sure to pass this along to everyone I know."

Pearl Izumi posted an apology on its Facebook page, which read, "We would like to sincerely apologize to everyone for the ad. As most of us here at Pearl Izumi are dog owners, we want you to know we would never, ever do anything to harm an animal. Please know that we have deleted the ad and removed it from all future publications."

After the retraction, many still expressed their dissatisfaction, with hateful posts still rolling in Friday.

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Lynn Brodie, a dog trainer from Kernersville, N.C., said, "If you are sincerely apologetic about this ad, perhaps your company AND your advertising agency should put their money where their mouth is and prove it to us by DONATING at least $100,000 to quality dog rescue organizations." Similar requests were echoed by many others.

Some found the ad less offensive.

Matt Mizenko, of Redwood City, Calif., wrote, "I have four dogs. I am a distance runner. I run with my dogs all the time. I thought the ad was funny and quite obviously tongue in cheek."

Lisa Pedersen, CEO of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, said the ad was "upsetting" because it conveyed harm being done to an animal. "People that have pets could relate to how damaging and traumatic this situation would be."

Although it was not publicized until a new statement was made on Facebook on Friday, Pedersen said that shortly after the controversy exploded, Pearl Izumi contacted the Humane Society, expressing the company's regret, and contributed $10,000 to the nonprofit to go toward educating the community about safe practices for exercising with dogs.

Friday's Facebook post was more apologetic than the original statement, with Pearl Izumi saying the ad "overstepped the bounds of good taste. A lot. ... While it was never our intention to make light of this serious subject, this ad crossed the line and used poor judgment."

The statement continued, "Many of you have suggested that we use this as an opportunity to point out the issue and raise awareness of heat exhaustion while running with your pet. We now hear you. As dog owners and lovers we can only hope that something good might come from our mistake, (to) raise awareness of this potentially serious problem ... ."

Pedersen said that, especially with the heat wave, it's important to take steps to prevent heat stroke in dogs. She recommends taking pooches out in cooler temperatures and working up their endurance for activity over time.

In regards to the donation, Pedersen said the Humane Society is "very grateful to Pearl Izumi."

Margaret Campbell, marketing professor at the University of Colorado, said it was not a new mistake in the advertising world.

"Companies are trying to be demonstrative of a product's attributes by humor with an outlandish situation," she said.

Campbell cited numerous similar ads from the past, including a Reebok Pumps ad from the early '90s in which two men bungee jumped off a bridge, and the one without his Pumps didn't come back up, presumably falling to his death.

Campbell said what usually happens is that the creatives thinking up the ad will fail to show it to someone not involved in their thought process.

"If they were to show that ad to even two people from Boulder, they would have said, 'That's not funny,'" she said.

Despite the hubbub, Campbell said the company did the right thing by pulling the ad, and she doesn't expect major consequences for the business.

"These things tend to blow up quickly, but they also tend to blow over quickly," she said.

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